Truth & Terror

Patti Smith plays to the Pope

The Vatican celebrates the birth of Christ with an annual Christmas concert, Concerto Di Natale, and this year, Pope Francis has invited Patti Smith, an American singer-song writer, to perform at the event on December 13, alongside Bob Sinclair.

Smith, 67, who is known as the ‘Godmother of Punk,’ had a religious upbringing; her mother was a Jehovah’s witness, but she rejected organised religion and this is reflected in her later songs.

Her most widely known song is Because the Night, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Wall of Fame. She was also named a Commander of Ordres des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not for mine,”

The religious leader of 1.2 billion Catholics is going against traditional taste by asking Smith to perform. The concert will also feature The Singing Nun, real name Sister Cristina Scuccia, who was the winner of The Voice of Italy and hit the charts with a reworked version of Madonna’s Like a Virgin.

Although Smith claims that she is not religious, she did follow the conclave after Pope Benedict XVI resigned and is a fan of the new Pope Francis.

She is also meant to be performing at a benefit concert a few days before in Naples, but because of her lyrics, “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not for mine,” from her hit song Gloria, the Catholic Portosalvo committee claimed that the performance would be ‘blasphemous’.

With Patti’s anti-religious lyrics, it will be interesting to see what she will perform in front of a religious audience on December 13. The concert will be broadcast live on Christmas Eve.